First Impressions – Neverwinter Nights 2: Storm of Zehir Expansion

I’ve only played NWN2: Storm of Zehir for about 2 or so hours, but in that time I’ve finally found a game that returns the PC fantasy RPG to its roots. From the outset, you realize that the game goes beyond its two predecessors (NWN2 and its first expansion Mask of the Betrayer), returning to the glory days of the Baldur’s Gate series and especially Icewind Dale. It’s too early to decide whether this is a good thing or not (BG and IWD are tops in PC fantasy RPGs), but the attempt is at least appreciated.

My super-major complaint with the first NWN2 and Mask of the Betrayer was their lack of a sizeable party. In addition to the player’s character, you could only travel with 3 other characters. Storm of Zehir brings the party number back to the glory days of 6 members, 4 of which you can create yourself. This control over party creation was especially fun, as I’ve always enjoyed carefully crafting a band of super-awesome spell and sword wielding heroes and anti-heroes.

The other changed aspect is the “world map” that’s so prevalent in RPGs. Rather than a stagnant map with click-and-travel icons, the SOZ world map is a zoomed out game-world. This gives you control of what you explore, where you move, what obstacles you avoid and whether or not baddies will catch you. I’m not entirely sure whether I like this (I’m terrible at evading skeletons and ogres), but it will probably just take some getting used to.

I’m planning on posting a full review when I complete the game. There’s a lot of potential here, so we’ll see what happens.